president hugo chavez has led the nation for 14 years. his third term expires today. he won re-election in october d was supposed to be sworn in again today for another six years, as the constitution requires. but chavez suffers from aggressive, reoccurring cancer, hasn't been seen in public in a month and was too sick to return to venezuela from medical treatment in cuba. >> the illness of the president has been treated like a state secret from the beginning. he has been treated in cuba under a veil of secrecy. >> reporter: moises naim is a former venezuelan cabinet minister, now a columnist and a visiting scholar at the carnegie endowment for international peace in washington. he says keeping chavez alive in havana strengthens the president's number two, nicolas maduro. >> and this is essentially a power play. behind that secrecy there is nothing but an attempt to ensure the continuity of the regime regardless of president chavez's presence. >> reporter: the u.s. state department, after sparring with chavez' venezuela for more than a decade, was restrained in its re